The park is a well-designed and badly needed public green space in the midst of San Francisco’s tallest skyscrapers. The impressive new transit center is the long-awaited replacement for the Transbay Terminal. It will be the downtown hub for bus commuters from the East Bay — and if all goes according to plan, for train commuters from all over the state.

But the transit center is too big a project to be abandoned to the political whims of high-speed rail’s naysayers and NIMBYs. The state’s mayors and regional officials need to begin working together on a Plan B that will still connect the region, whether it’s using upgraded commuter lines or lower speeds in certain areas. The state’s need for increased transit infrastructure isn’t going away in a time of housing crises and climate change.

Bay Area officials, meanwhile, should be doing all they can to boost the center’s prospects during this time of transition.

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